The Norns

The Norns are three goddesses who dwell at the base of the World Tree Yggdrasil.
They were born of the Vanir Witch Gullveig ("gold-lust") after the Aesir tried to kill her. They burned her three times, and each time her body brought forth a Norn. The first was Urd, who represents the Past, the second was Verdandi, the present, and the final was Skuld, Norn of the Future.

When the Norns came into being, they placed a temporal matrix on creation. Before the coming of the Norns, the world had existed in a dreamlike state, sometimes referred to as the "golden age". This golden age was destroyed by the Aesir's greed and the Vanir's trickery. Gullveig's name implies she was the representative of material pleasure. She was sent by the Vanir to destroy the Aesir, who in turn, by trying to destroy her, sent their greed and selfishness out into the universe. The golden age of peace was lost, and the cycle of birth, decay, and death was set into motion. The world and the gods would not live eternally; all but a lucky few would be destroyed at Ragnarok.

Urd sits by the well that bears her name and creates the threads of life. Verdandi weaves those threads into the tapestry, outlining the events of each being's life. Skuld sits last in line, unravelling the work of her sisters and bringing death. Yet the Norns are not evil, nor do they predestine what will happen. They are impartial observers, they are Time itself. All things must be born, and all things must die. Time is a circle within a circle, and all Times exist at once at points along this circle. Therefore, the Norns exist simultaneously and represent the flow of human life as it is ordered by this circular construct of Time.

In Uberheim, the Norns have a family history as tangled as the web they weave with human destiny! Grand Duchess Skuld is the leader of the Norns. Saga, Goddess of History has an Aspect, Urd, Norn of the Past. However, Saga has taken a High Priestess by the name of Lady Urda, who will, if she proves worthy, ascend as a Norn and relieve Saga of her dual role. To make matters more complicated, Urda is also an Apprentice to Skuld in the Art of Sewing. There is, as yet, no Verthandi!